90 ANGLING FOE PIKE. 



It occasionally happens that the angler has a run, the 

 bait is gorged, and yet the pike is not hooked. The reason 

 for this is in the hooks lying too close to the bait's gills. Some- 

 times pike take the bait, hold it a few seconds, and then 

 leave it. They may feel the lead in the bait, or may be 

 gorged with food. When quite a lad, I was trolling in the 

 Thames, near Pangbourne, and had a very curious experience. 

 A pike seized the bait. I gave him about eight minutes, and 

 struck. I felt the pike, but the bait came home. Clearly 

 he had not gorged. A fresh bait was put up, and cast in 

 the same place. Again it was seized, and again not gorged. 

 A third time I cast the bait before the pike, and this time 

 he did not seize it while it was in the water ; but as I brought 

 it a few inches above the surface, he sprang out of the water, 

 took it, and descended to the bottom like lightning. After 

 waiting some time to let him gorge, if he would, I looked 

 over the nose of the boat, and found I could see right down 

 to the bottom. A lad with me then pushed the boat forward, 

 and, with great care, we worked along, the line being our 

 guide, until we came over the pike, which I could see quite 

 plainly lying close to the bottom, with the bait just as he 

 had seized it — across his jaws. Obviously it was no use to 

 strike, so I lowered the gaff very quietly nntil the point 



was just under his snout, and but I blush to tell the 



rest. It would be an interesting subject for debate at a 

 meeting of an angling club whether that pike was caught by 

 fair means or foul. 



On this question of gorging, an interesting experiment 

 made by Jesse is worth relating. He threw five roach, each 

 about 4in. in length, to a 51b. pike. The first four were 

 swallowed rapidly, but the fifth was retained in the pike's 

 mouth for half an hour, until the others digested. This in- 

 cident may serve to explain the behaviour of my peculiar 

 pike. 



Finally, as to gorge-baiting, let me say that it should never 

 be allowed on waters where pike are preserved, unless there 

 are so many weeds that no other method can be conveniently 

 followed. 



